Thief
by Randomonium
Summary: -Companion piece to 'Phantom'- No-one had ever seen me before. So why did I show myself to him? ShikaTema, AU. Rated for slight language.


**Thief**

I arrived at home with my heart in my throat, gasping in panic.

_What had I done?_

How could I have been so stupid, so careless? Spontaneity was generally discouraged in my line of work, because spontaneity caused mistakes and mistakes caused you to get _caught. _The whole point of the game was _not to get caught._

I could kill him. I could kill him and then this whole night would be void, a nightmare that faded.

I groaned and settled my head on the wall.

I couldn't kill him. I didn't know where to find him. I didn't even know his _name._

Besides, if he was going to tell anyone, he would have done so already.

All in all, this night was pretty much a disaster.

I hadn't completed my objective, I had allowed myself to be seen, I had told him my name.

I had told him my name.

I had told a fucking agent my name.

Shit.

Although, fat lot of good it would do him- I didn't exist on record. The bastard had made damn sure of that.

_But how could I have been so stupid?_

What could have possessed me to do such a thing?

_I had kissed him._

Was I losing my mind?

Worst thing was, I wanted to kiss him again.

Then I gave a small snort of laughter and slid to the floor.

They thought I was ghost.

I suppose it's fairly apt. I don't exist in any records; most of those who knew me beforehand believe I died in a car accident. He thought he could make us disappear. Well, guess what, you old fart, I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere.

And neither, it seemed, was this problem.

The one which was me showing myself to that cute little agent. The one which was me telling the same cute little agent my name. The one which was me kissing the cute little agent. The one which was me being attracted to the cute little agent. The one which was me wanting to see him again.

Oh god, life was choosing a bad time to happen to me.

The panic and stress of what I had done and how I was feeling built up into a state of near hysteria. Unable to contain it, I started crying.

I. Don't. Cry.

I didn't cry when mom died, I didn't cry when the bastard disowned us, I didn't cry when I killed for the first time.

I refused to, I held it all in.

I guess it had to come out at some point, and this was the proverbial straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

The one that broke down my carefully constructed walls.

That's how Gaara found me.

Sitting in the corridor, crying.

Please bear in mind that he had _never seen me cry. _

"Temari?" he said.

I was too busy crying to answer. I hate crying.

"Kankurou!" Gaara called, not taking his nervous eyes off me. "Kankurou, come here."

"What is it?" Kankurou called back.

"Kankurou, come quickly. It's Temari."

"Is she hurt?" Kankurou asked, sounding marginally more interested.

I was so touched.

"Worse. She's crying."

Kankurou was there in a flash.

My two brothers stood there, at a complete loss as to what to do.

"Uh… Temari? Are you okay?" Kankurou asked nervously.

"I'm such an idiot," I mumbled, smiling through my tears nonetheless.

I don't think I've ever seen my brothers more scared.

--

He was there the next time. Dawdling at the back, looking reluctant to join in.

I reached out and brushed his elbow and had to suppress a laugh, as he looked like he just about leapt out of his skin.

"Come here, my little lost sheep," I murmured, loud enough so he could hear me, low enough no-one else could.

His eyes widened, and he developed that adorable deer caught in the headlights look again. He glanced behind him and slipped into the shadows unnoticed. Hmm. He'd be good at what I do.

"You followed?" I commented once we were a fair distance away from the commotion. "Aren't you scared I'll kill you?"

He shrugged. "You haven't yet, so I guess I'm safe. Aren't you afraid I'll arrest you?"

I smirked. "You haven't yet, so I guess I'm safe," I mimicked.

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not planning to."

I closed my eyes momentarily as relief flooded through me at hearing the words out of his own lips.

Lips that were looking very tempting…

I flashed a grin he didn't see, and, just because I could, I kissed him again.

Well, there we go. My problems were solved. And, just to be sure, I continued stealing him away from his team, giving him small chaste kisses as well as… erm… not-so-chaste kisses.

Everything continued (almost) as normal, and I didn't cry again.

Problem solved.

--

I have a new problem. I think I'm in love with that cute little agent.

-END-

**A/N: So, expanding on 'Phantom' is winning the poll, so here's the companion piece/sequel. Not entirely sure what to call it. Companion piece. Yeah.**

**Anyway, I don't think it has quite the same feeling as 'Phantom', and it's quite a lot shorter than 'Phantom' (like, over a thousand words shorter!) but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. **

**And yeah, she's human.**

**Please review!**


End file.
